Malaysia cancels $20-billion rail project with Chinese contractor
Malaysia’s economics minister on January 26 said that the government will cancel its $20-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC).
Mohamed Azmin Ali said at a media event that the project’s cost was too high, and that the country “cannot afford” to pay the $121.3 million annual interest on the project.
“The cabinet has made this decision because the cost to develop the ECRL is too big and we don’t have the financial capacity,” said Azmin, adding that the government was still determining how much to pay CCCC for the project cancellation fee.
Azmin said the government had tried to look into other options to build the 688-kilometer rail project connecting the Klang Valley to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but found the amount still too high.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last August that the rail project would be canceled “for now”, but the government has since said it was in negotiations with CCCC on the rail line’s future.
He had described the ECRL project as a “strange contract,” because Malaysia has to fund the project with a loan from China, while also hiring contractors from China.
He also announced in August the cancellation of another China-backed project, a natural gas pipeline in the East Malaysian state of Sabah.
The ECRL project was one of the biggest China has signed under its signature Belt-and-Road initiative, as well as one of state-owned contractor CCCC’s largest railway projects
Malaysia’s economics minister on January 26 said that the government will cancel its $20-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC). Mohamed Azmin Ali said at a media event that the project’s cost was too high, and that the country “cannot afford” to pay the $121.3 million annual interest on the project. “The cabinet has made this decision because the cost to develop the ECRL is too big and we don’t have the financial capacity,” said Azmin, adding that the government was still determining how much to pay CCCC for the project cancellation...
Malaysia’s economics minister on January 26 said that the government will cancel its $20-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC).
Mohamed Azmin Ali said at a media event that the project’s cost was too high, and that the country “cannot afford” to pay the $121.3 million annual interest on the project.
“The cabinet has made this decision because the cost to develop the ECRL is too big and we don’t have the financial capacity,” said Azmin, adding that the government was still determining how much to pay CCCC for the project cancellation fee.
Azmin said the government had tried to look into other options to build the 688-kilometer rail project connecting the Klang Valley to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but found the amount still too high.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last August that the rail project would be canceled “for now”, but the government has since said it was in negotiations with CCCC on the rail line’s future.
He had described the ECRL project as a “strange contract,” because Malaysia has to fund the project with a loan from China, while also hiring contractors from China.
He also announced in August the cancellation of another China-backed project, a natural gas pipeline in the East Malaysian state of Sabah.
The ECRL project was one of the biggest China has signed under its signature Belt-and-Road initiative, as well as one of state-owned contractor CCCC’s largest railway projects
